Telugu Desam Party members, including Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, were suspended from the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for two days for obstructing the proceedings on Wednesday.
The suspended TDP members were evicted from the House by marshals. Members of other opposition parties -- Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Majlis-e-Ittehaadul Muslimeen and Bharatiya Janata Party walked out of the Assembly in protest against the government's attitude.
Trouble arose as soon as the Assembly began its day's sitting at 8.30 am. TDP members were on their feet, demanding that they be given the chance to seek clarifications on Sripadasagar irrigation project tenders issue.
Speaker K R Suresh Reddy told that the issue was closed after the government made the offer on Tuesday to place all the files pertaining to Sripadasagar tenders with Minister for Major Irrigation Ponnala Lakshmaiah for scrutiny by floor leaders. He said that the House discussed the issue for 13 days. The debate and the reply by the government lasted over 20 hours.
"The files are available with the Minister for your perusal. You can go through them. If you are not satisfied, you can always come back to this House to raise the matter," the Speaker repeatedly told the TDP members.
However, as the TDP members persisted with their demand and obstructed the question hour for nearly 30 minutes, Legislative Affairs Minister K Rosaiah moved the motion for their suspension from the House for two days.
The Speaker put the motion to vote and ordered the suspended members to leave the House. In all, 31 TDP members present in the House at the time were suspended. Leader of the Opposition, too, was suspended against the convention. Marshals were called in to take them away.
After the suspension of TDP members, floor leaders Nomula Narasimhaiah (CPI-M), Chada Venkat Reddy (CPI), G Vijayarama Rao (TRS), Akbaruddin Owaisi (MIM) and G Kishen Reddy (BJP) stuck to their demand for tabling of the files of Sripadasagar tenders before the Speaker. These parties staged a walk-out from the House in protest against the government's reluctance to accept their demand and the hasty suspensions of TDP members. BSP floor leader Raja Rao protested and sat back in the House.
Incidentally, Janata Party floor leader Kommireddy Ramulu staged a walk-out from the House in "protest against the obstructive activities of the main opposition party in stalling the proceedings" for days on the same issue.